Travel and transportation expenses

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its rule defining domiciliary care, to accurately reflect the scope of services currently provided under the Domiciliary Care Program. VA’s Domiciliary Care Program provides a temporary home to certain veterans, which includes the furnishing of shelter, goods, clothing and other comforts of home, as well as medical services. In 2005 VA designated its Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MH RRTP) as a type of domiciliary care. MH RRTP provides clinically intensive residential rehabilitative services to certain mental health patient populations. We propose to amend the definition of domiciliary care to reflect that domiciliary care includes MH RRTP. In addition, VA domiciliary care, as a matter of long-standing practice, includes non-permanent housing, but this is not clear in the regulation. The proposed rule would clarify that domiciliary care provides temporary, not permanent, residence to affected veterans.

This document proposes to amend the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulation governing standards applicable to a community residential care facility (CRC) approved by VA. This regulation also addresses the amount that a veteran may be charged for residence in a CRC and how VA determines whether that rate is appropriate. Payment for the charges of CRC care is not the responsibility of the federal government or VA. The cost of community residential care is financed by the veteran’s own resources, and the resident or an authorized personal representative and a representative of the community residential care facility must agree upon the charge and payment procedures for community residential care. VA reviews and has approval authority over this agreement. We propose to amend and update the criteria VA uses to determine whether the rate for care charged to a veteran residing in an approved CRC is appropriate, to clarify how VA determines whether a CRC rate should be approved, and to make the regulation consistent with current VA practice. In addition, we propose to define in regulation the level of care that must be provided to a veteran residing in a CRC.